Whopper and the Woodpecker
by iheartkatamari
Summary: Oneshot. Whopper befriends a friendly but very hungry baby woodpecker. Based on a Tom and Jerry cartoon.


**This mostly adheres to the continuity of the first season (Holly owns the pound, Brighteyes is an adult dog rather than a puppy et al.), and, as in my previous fan fictions, Violet, Barkerville, Scrounger, Flack and Tubbs and Dabney Nabbit, the latter of whom now working for Katrina Stoneheart, are part of the cast. The storyline is based off of an episode of Tom and Jerry entitled, "Hatch Up Your Troubles." Please enjoy!(BTW, I have pictures of Timber and his mother available on my blog, the Keeper of the Fun blog!)**

It's a pleasant day in New York City. In a tree just outside of Holly's Puppy Pound a mother woodpecker sits in her nest, happily knitting a little pair of baby booties. Noticing the time on her watch, she carefully climbs to the edge of her nest, revealing a small pink egg sitting on a blanket. "Now, don't worry, my little one," she says softly as she gently tucks the egg in. "Mommy will be back soon." Upon this, she then flies off.

No sooner has she left, however, than the egg begins to jostle and jiggle. It bounces so vigorously that it ends up falling out of the nest and plummeting toward the ground. Fortunately, it lands in a spiderweb just in time, but soon the spiderweb gives way. The egg then drops into a large red tulip in Brighteyes' flower garden and rolls across the ground and through the front door of Fort Whopper, where it finally stops in Whopper's bed.

As the youngest Pound Puppy lies blissfully asleep, he rolls over a little and gently places his paw on the egg. "H-huhh?" he groans as he slowly opens one of his eyes. "What's this?" He sits up slightly and opens both of his eyes, looking in perplexity at the unusual item. "Gee, did I accidentally take my stash of marbles to bed with me again?" Suddenly, the egg begins hopping and jostling into the air again, upon which two small feet burst from the bottom of the egg and start running around. Nonplussed and more than a bit concerned, Whopper traipses over and gently removes the egg shell, revealing a tiny baby woodpecker.

He's a small black bird with a bright red head, a matching patch of feathers on his chest, a white belly, wingtips, and rings around his eyes, small yellow feet and a long, sharp yellow beak(1). Upon noticing the egg shell gone, the little woodpecker stops and begins curiously looking around the room; when his gaze falls on Whopper, he gasps with delight. "Mama!" He flutters up to the little puppy and begins nuzzling his cheek. "Ohh, Mama, I wuv 'oo!"

A concerned look crosses Whopper's face as his mind races for how best to explain this. "Uhm, I mean no offense, li'l guy, but I'm not your Mama." Upon hearing this, a panicked expression crosses the little bird's face. "But...where is Mama? Where she be? Oh no!"

Whopper gently pets the little one's head with the tip of his paw. "There, there, li'l one, please don't worry. I'll help you find your Mama."

The little woodpecker's face lights up. "For weally?"

"For _really_!" Whopper replies with a kind smile. "We Pound Puppies always look out for animals in need."

"YAHOO!" the woodpecker cheers happily as he flutters into the air. The little puppy gives a kind laugh. "Oh, by the way," he says as he casually turns to the woodpecker. "My name's Whopper."

"Oh, me vewwy pweased meet 'oo, Whopper," the little bird replies politely. "My name...uhm..." He pauses to muse for a second. "Gee, I don't think I gots name yet."

"Hmm," Whopper muses. "Well, would you like to be named...Timber?" Upon hearing this, the little bird flutters up happily. "Ooh, me wike it, me wike it! T'ankies so much!" Whopper smiles. "You're quite welcome, little one."

At this moment, Timber notices a large wooden dresser out of the corner of his eye. The little bird gasps with elation. "Ooh, _nummy!_" He then begins skittering over to it. Knowing what was about to happen, Whopper urgently calls, "Wait, Timber, please!" But by then it was too late, Timber had already pecked a large gaping hole in the side of the dresser. Just then, Timber then notices a tall wooden lamp standing across the room; he licks his lips and begins skittering over to it.

Whopper hurries after him, but doesn't quite make it in time before Timber rapidly pecks the lamp's stand into nothingness and runs away. As Whopper dashes over to the spot, the lampshade plops over his head. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" he says in a muffled voice. The little puppy pulls the lampshade off of his face just in time to see Timber rapidly pecking a hole through his wall. Thinking quickly, he nabs a packet of saltine crackers off of a nearby counter and hurries up to the little bird. "No, no, Timber," he says calmly as he presents him with a cracker. "We only eat food."

"Ooh." the little bird replies. Looking at the cracker, he then gleefully pecks it all up, causing Whopper to pull his paw back in shock. Carefully, the little puppy then hands his little friend another cracker, which he rapidly pecks into nothingness, too, causing Whopper to reel back again. Timber then scurries over and pecks up the whole package of crackers, leaving nothing but crumbs; he then sits on the ground, licking his lips and rubbing his belly. "Nummies!" Whopper stares in shock. "Ah, uhm, good boy, you made it all gone..." he says weakly.

The little puppy slowly tiptoes backwards toward a small green step stool and seats himself. _Gee, this kid's hungrier than Scrounger! _he thinks. _Wonder how I can show him th' right way t'behave... _Suddenly, he hears a RAT-A-TAT-TAT! sound from beneath him, upon which he flops to the ground with a start. Looking up, Whopper sees Timber flying away, then looks down to see a pile of sawdust surrounding him. Seeing Timber peck a hole through the front door, Whopper hurries after him, urgently crying, "Wait, Timber, come back, please!" Unfortunately, Timber has already flown well out of hearing range. A worried look crosses the little puppy's face. "Oh no, where could he have gone? He's not old enough to be out on his own! Oh, but I can't just stand here, I'll need to hurry and find him, fast!" Upon this, Whopper then rushes off.

Meanwhile, Timber is fluttering through the air when he presently flies by the hilltop mansion of Holly's wicked aunt Katrina Stoneheart. Spotting a wooden rake lying on the front lawn, the little woodpecker licks his lips hungrily; he then flies down and pecks the rake's handle in half. He then spots Katrina's mailbox by the curb and rapidly pecks its wooden post into nothingness. He then flies toward the mansion, pecks through the wall, and flies inside.

In the living room, Katrina's two henchmen Flack and Tubbs are sitting, each reading a different section of the newspaper, when suddenly, Flack hears a RAT-A-TAT-TAT! emanating from the next room. "Tubbs," he says curiously. "Did you hear somethin'?"

"Duh, I dunno," Tubbs replies. "What'd it sound like?" At this moment they hear the RAT-A-TAT-TAT! again. "Yeah, jus' like dat." Flack replies. Curious, the two dognappers scout the room for the source of the sound, but see nothing. They begin to scratch their heads. "Huh, dat's weird," Tubbs says as he removes his hat. "Mus' be some construction workers outside or sumthin'..."

Just then, Timber flies by, sight unseen and rapidly pecks him on the head. "OW! OW! OW! HEY!" Tubbs squeals. He then turns to his associate with an angry look on his face. "Hey, whad'ya bop me on da head for?"

"Bop ya on da head?" Flack replies in astonishment. "But Tubbs, I never touched ya."

"Well, _someone _did, an' dere's no one but you 'n me here." the fat dognapper replies incredulously. "Now, own up!"

"But honestly, Tubbs, it weren't me." the skinny dognapper replies. Just then, Timber flies by again and rapidly pecks him on the head. "OOH! OW! YIPE! OOH! EECH!" the skinny dognapper cries. He glares angrily at his associate. "Aw, Tubbs, what's gotten into ya? Quit goofin' on me!"

"Oh, but it is _you _who is goofin' on _me_!" the fat dognapper replies. The two are so busy arguing that they don't notice the small woodpecker flying through the hole in the wall.

Timber flutters toward the front door and begins rapidly pecking on it. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Hearing the noise, Flack and Tubbs stop arguing and pause to listen. "Hmm, someone's at da door." Flack notes as he hurries off to answer it. Upon hearing the footsteps approaching him, Timber ducks into a nearby bush. Flack then opens the door; upon seeing no one there, he begins looking around curiously. "Hello? Anybody dere?" Upon hearing no answer, he gives a small shrug. "Huh." He then goes back inside.

Once Flack has left, Timber flies up to the door and pecks at it again. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Upon this, Tubbs quickly swings the door open, causing Timber to hide again. "Hmm," he muses. "Nobody's there again." He then leaves, upon which the little woodpecker flies up to the door and pecks at it again. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Flack then swings the door open again, causing Timber to hide once more. Upon seeing no one there yet again, he scowls with annoyance."Hey, is someone tryin' ta pull a fast one on us or somethin'?" He then leaves again.

No sooner has he gone, however, than the little bird flies up and pecks at the door again. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Tubbs then opens the door, upon which Timber hides again. As he looks around futilely, a look of both perplexity and annoyance crosses the fat dognapper's face. "Hey, whaddaya playin' at here? Dis ain't funny!" He then leaves again, upon which Timber flies up and pecks at the door again. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Flack then opens the door yet again and sees no one there. Now feeling well and truly aggravated, the skinny dognapper snarls, "Doggone it, who's doin' dis? We'll teach 'em a lesson they won't soon ferget, jus' see if we don't!" He then storms back into the house, little noticing a small bird flying away.

The two dognappers return to the front porch moments later, carrying a bucket of water. "Now let's see them wiseguys try anything!" Flack snickers as he and Tubbs set the bucket up on top of the door. The two then duck into the bushes nearby to watch. At this moment, Flack and Tubbs see Katrina traipsing up the front walk. Seeing her walking toward the door, Flack cries, "Boss, wait! There's a-" Unfortunately, she doesn't hear him in time. _SPLASSH!_

Dolefully, the two dognappers traipse out of the bushes and face the sodden and very angry Katrina. "_YOU TWO NITWITS HAD BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS!_" she bellows. Flack and Tubbs gulp nervously and slowly begin backing away. "Ahh..heh, heh...sensing their error, our heroes slowly steal away into the night..." They then quickly dash off.

Meanwhile, Timber is fluttering around the back of the mansion when he suddenly spies Dabney Nabbit the dogcatcher sitting leisurely in a lawn chair, holding a glass of iced tea in his right hand. "Ahh," he sighs blissfully. "What a lovely day." Licking his lips hungrily as he eyes the chair's wooden legs, Timber flutters down and begin pecking away at one of them.

Hearing the sound, Nabbit looks down with an annoyed glare. "Hey, quit that, ya little pest!" He pours the glass of tea toward the little bird, but fortunately, Timber is able to fly out of the way in time. He then zings over and pecks the chair leg completely in half, causing the chair to snap shut, trapping the dogcatcher inside. "Hey!" Nabbit exclaims in a muffled voice, struggling to get free. "Why, you little pest, I'll get you for that!"

The little bird gasps as the dogcatcher breaks free and grabs his net, then begins chasing after him, angrily swinging the net in the air. "HEWP! HEWP!" Timber cries as he begins scurrying at a quick pace. Hearing his cries, Whopper, who had been happening by at that very moment, looks up and gasps. "Don't worry, li'l friend, I'll save you!" As the two round a corner, the little puppy rushes over, sticks his foot out, and trips Nabbit, causing him to fall flat on his face.(Well, as flat on his face as he could, that is.)

"Oof," the dogcatcher mumbles as he slowly climbs to his feet and brushes himself off.(Which, unsurprisingly, had little to no affect) "Who did that?" Upon spotting Whopper standing nearby, an angry look crosses his face. "Oh, so it was you! Well, I'll nab ya, and I'll nab ya _good!_(2)" Whopper gulps nervously. "Uh oh!" The little puppy tries to run away, but unfortunately he doesn't get far before Nabbit swipes his net down on him. "Hah! Gotcha!" the dogcatcher sneers nastily. Whopper struggles to get free, but Nabbit is much too strong and holds him back.

Thinking quickly, Timber flies over and rapidly pecks the dogcatcher on the head, causing him to drop the net. "OW! OOH! OW! EECH!" The little woodpecker then flies over to see his friend flipping the net off of himself. "Ohh, thank so much, Timber." Whopper says gratefully. The little bird smiles. "You welcome."

Rubbing his sore head, Nabbit looks up to see what might have hit him, but sees nothing. "Huh. Thought sure that pesky bird was back." he shrugs. No sooner does he look down, however, than Timber divebombs him again. "OOH! OW! EECH! YIPE!" He then looks up again, but still sees nothing. "Something weird's goin' on here..." He then looks down gain, upon which Timber divebombs him once more. "OOH! OW! YIPE! ACK!" Nabbit looks up once more to see nothing; now becoming truly annoyed, he snarls, "Oooh, enough is too much! I'll get the better of that pesky bird, just see if I don't!"

Noticing Whopper running away, the dogcatcher slyly sneers, "But first thing's first." He then hurries after Whopper and manages to nab him again. No sooner has he done this, however, when Timber flutters over and pecks his net handle in two, causing the dogcatcher to topple backwards and crash headlong into Katrina's lawn fountain. _WHAM! _Nabbit sputters and gasps as he slowly crawls out of the fountain. "Water. Phooey."

As he slowly brushes himself off, the big bellied dogcatcher quickly spies a burlap sack and a cork by the side of the house; his mind racing, Nabbit quickly grabs both items. As Whopper and Timber begin casually making their way back to the pound, Nabbit quickly dashes up behind them and sticks the cork over Timber's beak. "Ha, now ya can't nail me on the head again, ya little pest!" Whopper gasps in horror as he freezes where he stands. Nabbit glares nastily. "You're mine now, pup!" The little puppy gulps audibly and begins to sweat profusely. "Uh oh..."

Nabbit then begins to chase Whopper, holding the burlap sack. "HELP! SAVE ME! SOMEONE PLEASE!" the little puppy cries fearfully. Thinking quickly, Timber quickly pries the cork from his beak with his feet and flutters up to the branch of a large tree nearby. Watching carefully until Nabbit runs directly beneath the branch, the little woodpecker quickly pecks the branch down. Hearing a falling sound from above, the dogcatcher(Very unwisely) stops in his tracks and looks up to see the large branch coming toward him. Nabbit's eyes grow large as he gulps nervously. "Perhaps I should quickly move..."

_WHAM! _The branch nails Nabbit on the head, knocking him out. Stopping to catch his breath, Whopper looks over his shoulder to see the dogcatcher lying unconscious on the ground, upon which Timber flutters up beside him. Beaming with happiness, the little puppy gently pets his little friend on the head. "Ohh, thank you so much for savin' me, li'l guy. You're a real pal." Timber beams modestly. "You vewwy welcome, Whopper. I do anything for fwiends."

"Mmn," Whopper muses, suddenly remembering something very important. "I wonder where your Mama is..." Just then, the two hear a voice calling, "Sweetie! There you are!" upon which they look up to see the mama woodpecker flying toward them. Gasping with elation, Timber flies up to his mother and embraces her in a big hug. "Mama! Oh, Mama, me so gwad see you again!"

"I'm so glad to see you, too, Honey," the mama woodpecker replies, beaming happily. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again." Timber sighs, "Me too." The mama woodpecker then turns to Whopper. "Thank you so much for finding and looking after my precious son, Darling." The little puppy smiles and blushes modestly. "You're quite welcome, Ma'am."

"Well, I don't mean to be rude, but we'll need to be going home now." the mama woodpecker says. She and her son then begin to fly off. "Goodbye, Dear! Thank you for everything!" she calls, politely waving. "Bye-bye, Whopper! I always remember 'oo!" Timber calls.

"Goodbye, folks! Please take care!" the little puppy calls, waving in reply. As he watches his new friends leave, Whopper breathes a doleful sigh. Though happy that Timber had found his mother, he was also quite sad because he and the little fellow had become good friends and he knew he would miss him. Just then, Whopper hears the sound of wings flapping, upon which he looks up to see Timber fluttering down to him. The little bird gives his new friend a big hug on the shoulder. "We bestest fwiends fowwever!" Upon this, he then flies off. Now feeling much better, Whopper smiles and breathes a wistful sigh as a blush warms his face. "Best wishes, my little friend."

Meanwhile, back outside Katrina's mansion, Nabbit is slowly coming to. "Ughh..." he groans as he dazedly climbs to his feet. "What happened?" As he begins making his way toward the mansion's front door, the dogcatcher mumbles, "Last thing I remembered was that pesky bird 'n pup givin' me th' runaround..."

Inside the mansion, Katrina is just entering the living room, when she gasps in shock at the sight of her furniture full of gaping, ragged holes. "My house! NABBIT!" Nabbit enters the house just in time to hear Katrina's yell; he begins sweating profusely. "Gee...and I thought it was dangerous _outside!_"

**The end.**

Voice Cast

Whopper-Brianne Siddal

Timber-Tara Strong

Timber's Mom-Tress MacNeille

Katrina Stoneheart-Louise Valance

Flack-Charlie Adler

Tubbs-Will Ryan

Dabney Nabbit-Jeff Glen Bennett

(1)His appearance is based on that of the baby woodpecker in the original Tom and Jerry episode.

(2)Nabbit's catchphrase, starting with season 2.


End file.
